deaf aussie pup? any chance i could make a shedder out of it?

[kalamasasquatch]

For those who have trained a dog, how would you train a deaf dog to come to you if you are out of sight? I know how to do the scent training, but add in being deaf and I just dont know if its possible. Thoughts?.........

[jackelope]

I had a deaf sheepdog as a kid. Nightmare. Always had to be on a leash when out of the house or yard. We trained her with hand signals to sit, stay, heel etc but never anymore than that. She escaped a few times. You can't call th back or get their attention otherwise unless maybe you put a collar on them. That's the hard part when they take off or get away from you. Not sure what kind of nose Aussies have for shed hunting.

[mulehunter]

 . At first, I think it was funny..Cuz I am deaf.  I know few families have deaf dog,  you can teach sign lang from ASL on google how to sign ( Sit, come, stay, eat, Bathroom, bed time, play,) and if you have shock collar with low tune would help dog to come from long range. Make sure you give dog some cookies from training. It's fun to teach.  Have fun!

 

[NW-GSP]

I would look into a collar that would vibrate when you need to call her.

[Boss .300 winmag]

. At first, I think it was funny..Cuz I am deaf.  I know few families have deaf dog,  you can teach sign lang from ASL on google how to sign ( Sit, come, stay, eat, Bathroom, bed time, play,) and if you have shock collar with low tune would help dog to come from long range. Make sure you give dog some cookies from training. It's fun to teach.  Have fun!

 

Mulehunter few questions if you don't mind.

We're you born deaf, and how does being deaf help your other senses when hunting ?

[gasman]

The vibrating collar is a great idea 

[kalamasasquatch]

See I thought of and have a collar but if I am out of sight how would she know where to go to find me? As a shed dog that would be one of my biggest concerns.

I had a deaf sheepdog as a kid. Nightmare. Always had to be on a leash when out of the house or yard. We trained her with hand signals to sit, stay, heel etc but never anymore than that. She escaped a few times. You can't call th back or get their attention otherwise unless maybe you put a collar on them. That's the hard part when they take off or get away from you. Not sure what kind of nose Aussies have for shed hunting.

So even as a pet it was difficult? I've read that they are pretty good scent dogs but I don't think the deafness is gonna work.

[jackelope]

See I thought of and have a collar but if I am out of sight how would she know where to go to find me? As a shed dog that would be one of my biggest concerns.

I had a deaf sheepdog as a kid. Nightmare. Always had to be on a leash when out of the house or yard. We trained her with hand signals to sit, stay, heel etc but never anymore than that. She escaped a few times. You can't call th back or get their attention otherwise unless maybe you put a collar on them. That's the hard part when they take off or get away from you. Not sure what kind of nose Aussies have for shed hunting.

It was tough because we had to have her under control at all times. We had a lab too at the time and that dog could run around loose. The sheepdog would freak out because she wanted to run with the other dog. My little brother and I had the brilliant idea of tying them together one time. We figured the lab would keep the sheepdog under control. That was a horrible idea. No good, but thats what 13-14 year old boys do. They come up with brilliant ideas. I remember she got loose a few times, not unlike any other dog...however she'd be gone for days at a  time and we'd always be worried about her getting hit by a car or something. We couldn't call her back like a normal dog. We had to just get lucky and find her. I moved out and my dad and step mom had that dog till she died of old age, but it was no walk in the park. We surely gave her a  better life than she would have had if we didn't take her, and there's something to be said for that.

So even as a pet it was difficult? I've read that they are pretty good scent dogs but I don't think the deafness is gonna work.

[kalamasasquatch]

Yea, unfortunately the more I consider it I think its not gonna be a good fit. It would have to be an indoor dog and they have to much energy for that.

[jackelope]

We would have to jump or stomp on the floor in the house just to get her attention if she was looking the other way. It was hard.

[6x6in6]

I had a deaf Aussie about 20 years ago.  I have owned Aussies for more than 30 years now, 5 dogs total.
Aussies can be high energy, as you probably know.  Aussies are also incredibly loyal but can be very independent, to a fault.
I cannot speak for the shed hunting aspect, but I will say this.
Like most dogs, there #1 instinct is to follow their nose. Then eyes and lastly their ears. 
I realized within days that my deaf Aussie seemed to not want to be out of eyesight from me.  When he was, it was typically due to wind direction whereas he had a comfort level knowing I was near.  It really took some time to venture out of eyesight and rely on his nose.
Hand signals along being overly pronounced with your gestures of appreciation and scolding.  It's a comfort thing with a deaf dog. 
Aussies are very sensitive dogs.  Incredibly intelligent.  Extremely loyal.  And love to have a job to do.
I never hesitated to take him on horseback rides.  Sure, I was a bit more in tune of where he was and sometimes it caused me to stop and wait before he realized "hey, I need to pay attention here and quit sniffing every rock, stump, etc."  When he had those moments, the VERY first thing he would do is shove his nose down to check for scent and where did we go.  Even if we were in eyesight.  It was actually pretty cool to watch this dog work like that. 

A lot of it depends on your dog and his own independence level and energy level.  If you have a quiet bloodline and the dog spends a lot of time looking at you like he's asking for guidance, it could become very easy to do just a about anything with him as you would with any other dog that has his ears.  Maybe even easier!!
Be patient.
Work extra hard on the hand signals and gestures.
Just like hunting, use the wind, except it just blows the wrong way in this case.
The dog will trust you and you will trust the dog.

I say go for it.  The dog deserves an honest shot at it.

[jrebel]

Buy a GPS training combo.  You can always find her this way as well you can program a very small shock impulse to command come.  In theory it should work well.